Glenn Beck Claims Comcast has Marked MSNBC and Keith Olbermann for Death

On his radio show today, while responding to Jimmy Carter’s claim that Glenn Beck and Fox distort the news, Beck stated that Comcast has marked MSNBC and Keith Olbermann for death. Beck said, “MSNBC is marked for death. Comcast is going to run it like a business…It won’t feature Keith Olbermann and they know that.”

While replying to Jimmy Carter’s statement on CNN Reliable Sources yesterday that he and Fox distort the news, Glenn Beck launched into his own Comcast/MSNBC conspiracy theory, “If I may make a prediction, they are going to make this into a talking point, a regular talking point. You are going to hear the liberals come out and start to throw MSNBC under the bus, and throw them under the bus hard, and here’s why, MSNBC is marked for death. If it is sold to Comcast, Comcast will run it like a business. If it remains liberal, it will just be a good liberal station. It will just run things that will actually get ratings. If it’s not, it will most likely just be a news channel, or I mean, I don’t know what they’re going to do with it, but it won’t feature Keith Olbermann and they know that.”

Next up, the conspiracy, “So just like everyone as soon as they start to outlive their usefulness for radicals and revolutionaries, they shoot them in the head, and that’s exactly what’s going to happen to MSNBC, and they’ll offer up a false choice, they’ll say look we’re willing to get rid of MSNBC and you get rid of Fox and we can have real news. Mark my words, that’s that what they’ll say. We’ll get rid of MSNBC, and you get rid of Fox. Yeah, really you’ll do that? You shoot the shows that nobody watches on one that’s marked for death anyway? Well, how big of you. I don’t think so.”

Ok, let’s break this down. It’s pretty much a given that if Comcast takes over, they will want to clean up MSNBC and run it like a business. MSNBC has been a circus for years, and it desperately needs to be reined in. There is nothing wrong with that. MSNBC could take the next step and continue to grow with a more professional structure.

If Comcast is going to run MSNBC like a business, the last thing they are going to do is kill the network and here’s why. MSNBC makes money. It is a small profit, but their expenses are flat and their revenues are growing. Revenue has really taken off for the network since they moved left. The reason why Comcast won’t turn MSNBC into a straight news channel can be found at CNN. The former cable giant is the only network remaining that does straight news. It is also the only cable news network that isn’t making money.

If Comcast is going to run MSNBC like a business, they are going to invest in the kind of programming that will produce the greatest amount of revenue. The partisan shows make money. Comcast won’t dump them, and they won’t go conservative because Fox News owns that market. Comcast could make quite a pretty penny catering to the under served liberal audience, and they know it.

Beck’s whole conspiracy theory is predicated on the idea that Comcast is going to kill off MSNBC, but he admits in his own comments that he has no idea what Comcast is going to do with MSNBC. He violates his own logic that Comcast will run the network like a business when he claims that they are going to kill it off. He contradicted his own conspiracy theory. Keith Olbermann is a different story. He has been a headache for MSNBC for years, and if the new bosses think that they can do something else with the 8 PM hour that will be less of hassle and make them more money, then they might not renew Olbermann’s deal, but again, it comes down to money, not liberal conspiracy to get rid of Fox News.

What makes absolutely no sense is why Comcast would want to go along with a liberal conspiracy to sacrifice MSNBC to get rid of Fox News? Why would Comcast throw away a profitable resource in order to do away with a network which their owner shares political agreement with? It makes no sense. Whatever occurs at MSNBC after Comcast takes over has nothing to do with eliminating Fox News, or Jimmy Carter’s thoughts on the media.

If anyone on the left actually believes that Comcast has some diabolical plan for either Olbermann or MSNBC, before you go any further, think about this. Glenn Beck agrees with you. That statement alone should cause anyone who is buying into the Comcast conspiracy theory to pause and rethink their views.

Mr. Easley is the founder/managing editor and Senior White House and Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason spent four years as a political columnist and the politics editor at 411mania.com, where he covered such issues as the Iraq War, warrantless wiretapping, and the daily workings of the American legislative process. Jason has also written for the Blogger News Network and saw his 2008 presidential election coverage quoted in over 300 newspapers worldwide. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association

Why don’t you put it up for Christmas so those of us who read you a lot can give a little something back? Also, I was promised a PoliticusUSA facebook page and a store. Don’t mean to nag but hey! If you need any help, let me know. I don’t know what I can do but I’m willing to pitch in.

So, Keith Olbermann has been a “headache” to MSNBC for years? Must be a damn profitable headache, given that he has the lead anchor spot in primetime! Please, give me a break with the sob story about how Keith is sooooo hard for his bosses to handle and everyone at MSNBC just wants to get rid of him. If it weren’t for Keith, MSNBC wouldn’t even EXIST as a news channel today. Until his Special Comments began and started going viral in 2006, the network had NO buzz and NO one talking about it and one financial foot in the grave, because it had no character, no identity, no BRAND. Today it does, and it has a viable future, and that has nothing to do with any corporate decisions, it has to do with one person: Keith Olbermann. HE made people start talking about what he was doing with the Special Comments. HE spotted Rachel Maddow’s talent and suggested she have her own show. How easily we forget that a mere five years ago, the “stars” of MSNBC were people like Tucker Carlson, Dan Abrams and Rita Cosby. Most of its shows’ ratings were in the toilet, and the execs signed new “talent” and flung new shows at the primetime schedule every few months like monkey feces to see what would stick, only to cancel them before a year was out because nobody watched them. MSNBC was a sinking ship, losing money, with Microsoft shrinking its part of the deal ever smaller and rumors flying constantly that NBC was about to shutter the failed experiment altogether. ONE man ended that…ONE. That man was Keith Olbermann. And if Comcast or the suits at MSNBC ever forget it (again), the viewers will be more than happy to remind them.

Dude, why can’t you chill out? Keith Olbermann is great, but if you are trying to say he isn’t a headache, you’re high. He’s been fired from every job he’s had. Hes a high maintenance kind of guy. Great at his job! But he’s not easy. Most of those people who are good aren’t easy. You need to relax the Olbermann defense shield. No one is out to get your leader.

MSNBC could easily let Olbermann go. He is coming off of a terrible year. His ratings are falling. This article wasn’t even about Olbermann, but if you think that “the fans” matter when trying to justify Olbermann’s salary and falling to flat ratings, you don’t understand business. If MSNBC could make more money without Olbermann they would do it. This is all about money at the end of the day. Olbermann might have moved MSNBC to left but that does not entitle him to a lifetime job or a salary that doesn’t equal his production. If the dollars and ratings don’t fit, I could see the network letting him walk as strictly a business decision. You can argue the merits of such a decision, but you can’t argue that this is the way of the business world, and make no mistake cable news is first and foremost a business.

Why can’t we be reasonable? Everyone likes Keith Olberman. That doesn’t mean the man is impervious or perfect. I’ve yet to meet a perfect person. As for Glenn Beck’s paranoia, not everything is about Fox or you, Glenn!

I had heard this rumor a couple weeks ago. Fortunately it was not from Glenn Beck either.
First of all I hope that the Congress slams the door on this merger.
Second Glenn Beck admits that Fox news is not a news channel. That’s not big news. I would gladly trade Fox news and MSNBC for an all news station with hosts the wore Dick Nixon masks. Get rid of the personalities and report the news.
But I think we all know this is just Glenn Beck talking and proving once again he is an idiot

I was trying to make the point that they should not have any personalities on the news station. If they were all wearing Dick Nixon masks they would all be the same people. Only the voices would be changed

Which would make them bristol palin now (she came out in gorilla suit which she stripped off to reveal red dress meant to stand for her mother. super creepy) but I get your point. I think it’s sad that most liberals want real news brought back but most conservatives think that fox is real news. that idea alone should clue into who has something at stake regarding misleading news.

Not sure if any of you noticed that Obamamann was already summarily executed from Sunday Noght Football pre-game. Frankly, it was a direct insult to those of us with a brain to have to listen to that schmuck provide his useless insight last year. I know I complained to NBC and I am certain that thousands other did as well. We don’t have Bill goddamn O’reilly on Fox football, no reason we had to endure this crazy legs schmuck.

Comcast is basically an internet company. Basically they are looking at long term internet content distribution and MSNBC kicks Fox but on the internet basically a huge number of companies kick Fox’s butt on the internet even tiny Huffington Post whoops their ass.
The idiot box is right wing (driven by corporations) and the internet is left wing (driven by the people). Comcast is looking at the long term as the cable TV audience simply dies of old age and the internet audience dominates.
Oh and yes, Beck is pretty much universally reviled on the internet, he would have more hope as a web cam target for paint balls than as a news commentator on the internet and the same goes for pretty much the whole of the Fox not-News team.

Lets not paint Olberman as an intellectual. All he does is report what Beck and O’Reilly say or do. The Good ‘Ol boys at Fox are more of the same. The hosts are like the viewers, bragging that they are so smart when they are either college freshman or the new definition of a mid-life crises. The chances are high that a 50 year old woman who adores Olberman probably has Turquoise floors and wears her niece’s clothes to the mall. Just like you find a middle aged man who thinks Beck is keen and our soldiers are actually dying in Iraq, for our freedom. The chances of this country are dying with the greatest generation, if simply because their kids are doing the damage.

America Americans America who do you love? Glenn Beck and fox is the fox in the hen house. Proverbs 18:6 A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.(This fits any media outlet) Those of you that know the truth and is grounded in the truth have an oath of faith to stand when a lie is told. Our selfish desires causes us to demand our way, and by so doing we abandon sound principles of conduct such as (Truth). America Americans America who do you love?

Tru, you couldn’t have said it better. Glenn Beck is connected to reality by only one slender thread — knowing how to whip into a frency the Know-Nothings so he, himself, can make more money. Thank God for MSNBC and Olbermann.

What I liked is that Beck pretty much announced that Fox’s “Fair and Balanced” stance is nothing but pure BS. I mean, we all KNOW this to be true already. It’s just nice to hear the moron come right out and say it.

Revolutionary Comcast and their empire have finally struck the people by pulling MSNBC and Fox off the air and charging $2/month for a “box” in order to watch these channels. Screw Comcast, try anything else.

What wonderful accurate insights do you have for us today? I could care less if people lean left or right, but Olbermann is an idiot and needed to go. The other moron of equal vile spew is Sean Hannity. There is no place for either of those two baffoons in a world that needs compromise and cooperation to make a world that works. As soon as the immature people realize Utopia will never exist, we can get down to accomplishing things that are worthwhile. We are all Americans first and foremost. ..lets not forget that . Peace.

UPDATE: Keith Olbermann announced his departure this evening (1/21/11). This is awful–I love this show and Keith Olbermann is wonderful!

I have to wonder if MSNBC’s relation to GE (which still owns 49% of MSNBC), and Obama’s recent tapping of GE’s Immelt have something to do with this?

In other words, Keith Olbermann no longer had any freedom of speech on MSNBC–which gives meaning to his “Network” reference tonight? See 2 posts below for some history of silencing of Olbermann by Immelt and MSNBC/GE previously.

If Comcast is responsible for eliminating the best progressive and most popular voice on MSNBC, the FCC should reconsider and rollback the merger. . . alternatively, we boycott Comcast, its affiliates and MSNBC!
History:
Obama taps GE chief Immelt for jobs role, continuing outreach to …
20 minutes ago

By naming General Electric chief executive Jeffrey Immelt to lead a new White House panel, Obama sent another signal that he wants to work more closely with …
Washington Post – 1509 related articles

la.indymedia.org/news/2003/04/47530.php – Cached – Similar
GE’s silencing of Olbermann and MSNBC’s sleazy use of Richard …

Unfortunately, Comcast is ruled by a Republican fund raiser…..it is ironical that while Republicans claim to be soldiers of freedom they are doing all they can to impose their convoluted conservative ideologies and values on the entire population thru power and control…I guess with the Supreme Court rulings on campaign contributions, and the proliferation of conservative media throughout the blogsphere, radio and TV…the corporations are gaining ground in controlling and oppressing the people…all I know is that I yet have to see one thing Republicans have ever authored, initiated for the middle class and the poor….their only contribution to society has been their overwhelming effort to encourage control of corporations over the people, the overwhelming exploitation of the people and subjugation of their minds…..with Comcast taking over MSNBC we see the initial concrete step to silence free speech and free distribution of diverse ideas in favor of the cause of corporate control of America